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Today's Lessons Page will cover a variety of skills, with lots of review work and some new items thrown in, as well! Remember that these opening days are truly an overview of what is to come. Everything we learn in class will be reviewed many times to be sure you have grasped the concept! I am so proud of the work you have already completed, and I can't wait to see what you turn in next!
REVIEW Directions: Please answer each question carefully, sometimes filling in a blank, circling a true or false answer, or writing a short explanation. 1. What do we call the noun that completes the main action in a sentence? _______________________________ 2. A twist in language, such as the expression "We are all in the same boat," is known as an ________________ 3. True False The word "happiness" is a noun. 4. True False If you put antifreeze in your car, it will stop the water in your radiator from freezing. 5. Find the subjects in the following sentences:
7. Why does a proper noun begin with a capital letter? ________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Name one new word you have learned this week that you have already (or will) put in your personal dictionary. What does it mean? ____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. What are you reading this week? If you are not reading anything at the moment, make the decision to go to the bookstore or the library, and take out books you know you will enjoy! _______________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. This sentence is incorrect. Rewrite it correctly on the line next to it. All the boys in Cheryl's class enjoys video games. ____________________________________________________ Part Two: Q& A Answer: It is an important part of my day. Question: ______________________________________________________________________________________ Part Three: Please finish this story starter. Every seat was taken, and now I stood there wondering why I had even come.__________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Are all your sentences set up using the correct form? Did you use capital letters and punctuation marks as needed. Part Four: New Vocabulary narrator -- the person who is telling a story fiction -- an untrue story; a story that comes from the writer's imagination nonfiction -- a story that is true and has actually happened point of view -- the viewpoint from which a story is told Questions: a. Would you rather read a fiction or a nonfiction book? Please tell why. b. Why would using a different point of view change a story? 6. Would you rather have be the narrator in a book, the writer, or the illustrator? Tell why. Part Five: Main Characters vs. Minor Characters Do you think it is important for authors to include minor characters in their stories? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________ We will read about this in our language arts book in a moment! We will also talk about the types of characters in many of the stories you read! Part Six: New Idiom The new director at SCALE understood what adult learners go through, and she mentioned that they already have a lot on their plate. What do you think this means? ______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Bonus: Is it literal or figurative language? ___________________________________________________________
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BACK IN CLASS!!
Welcome Back, Everyone! I am so excited to begin the new school year with all of you! This Lessons Page is where you will find materials for what was taught in class that day or what can be used for practice right after! It is important to note that if you truly have to miss a day of school, this is the place to visit where you will find a general overview of what you missed and what you can then make up. This page will keep you on track with all your assignments, so please refer to it often! You will be responsible for following directions and completing this work, which can then be sent to me on the Writing Page. Your work can also be written on paper, if you prefer, and later passed in to me when you return to school. Let's begin! Part One: Idiom(s) of the Day An idiom is a type of figurative language, a twist in the literal meaning of words we may know, that has a very different meaning from a dictionary definition! Some people may refer to an idiom as a saying because this new meaning has become an expression that people now say. For those of us who are native speakers of languages other than English, idioms can be a nuisance because they cannot be translated word for word! So...in this class, you will be provided with at least one idiom every day to help you understand these expressions when you come across them in the English language, whether that be in print (in books, magazines, etc.) or in oral communication with others. Today, we will begin with three idioms. Each idiom will be indicated in bold print in the sentences below. We will discuss the meaning of each one, so please have your pens and pencils ready to go! 1. Ricky didn't know if he would mind the long commute to work, but he decided to let the chips fall where they may. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. It's raining cats and dogs outside right now! ________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Everyone in this class has a goal, and because of this we are all in the same boat! ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part Two: Question and Answer Section (Inverted!) This particular section has you thinking backwards:) Instead of my providing you with a question (and your giving me the answer), I will give you the answer....and you will come up with a question. This means that there could be many questions that are acceptable--as long as the answer I have given you fits with your question! Example: My Answer: It will be great! Your Possible Question: What do you think about this new school year at SCALE? We can see how the question provided can be answered with "It will be great!" Now let's look at a possible question that will NOT work. Wrong Question: How are you? We can see that the question does not match the answer provided! Let's Try This One Together. Write down your question for this answer, and we will share them! Answer: This is the best holiday! Question: ________________________________________________________________________________________ We can see that there could be a few different questions provided because we all have our own preferences. We just need to be sure that we phrase the question in such a way that my answer will work! Now Try This One Independently! Answer: There are twelve of them. Question: ________________________________________________________________________________________ Part Three: Literary Terms This is the section in which a new vocabulary word (that is primarily used to talk about reading and literature) is introduced or reviewed. These literary terms will also be referred to as literary devices. Since a device is a tool, the point of this section is to gather as many tools as possible to be able to discuss literature beyond basic comprehension! Our first literary term: Alliteration Before defining alliteration for you, I am going to provide a sentence that contains this literary device and ask you to think about the words I have selected here! Red roses rarely rise near the rear garden rail. You may say the words out loud to hear this device in action! What do you notice about several of the words used? ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Here is another one: Tom took two trips to the tool shed. Or: Chris found Cam the kitten on the kitchen counter. What is your definition of alliteration? _______________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now create one of your own! _______________________________________________________________________ Part Four: Grammar I like to think of grammar as the mechanics of all good writing. Of course, we need a great idea before beginning the writing process. Then, we need to understand sentence structure in order to place that great idea in good, sequential order. We also need to use concise vocabulary to put our great idea across most effectively. But we also need to know how and when to use various forms of words, different types of punctuation, capital letters and more so that our idea is showcased in its best light! A knowledge of good grammar allows our writing to shine! We will start today with the noun as the possible subject of a sentence! (Note: I said possible because my other option would be a pronoun, which we will talk about another day!) In short, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea/feeling. We can look at the Blackboard Skills Page to see the many options for this important part of speech. Let's take a moment to do so right now, but I also encourage you to review this page later tonight or when you need to refresh your knowledge of nouns! Exercise I: Please Identify all nouns in the sentences that follow. Underline or circle them on your corresponding sheets. 1. Sammi is a strong player on that baseball team. 2.Rachael found a pearl in an opened oyster by the sea. 3. Jerri loved every song he heard at the concert. 4. Do you understand the question? 5. Have you ever visited Camden, Maine? 6. Freedom is a right of all Americans. 7. Seamus was filled with happiness during the holidays. Now that we have spent some time talking about nouns, we will switch for a moment to how a noun can be used. Since there are a few different ways, today we will look at the noun as the subject of a sentence. A subject of a sentence can best be described as the person, place, thing, or idea that is actually doing the main action! Example: Tom threw the football for a touchdown. Note: There are three nouns in this sentence. Can you name them? ________________________________________ Of these three, which one is completing an action? ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Example 2: Even though it was a very cold day, Judi wore only a light sweater to the game. Note: There are four nouns in this sentence (along with lots of other words, clauses, and phrases that we will talk about in the days ahead!). Can you name them? _______________________________________________________ Which noun is the only one that is actually doing an action? _____________________________________________ Directions: In this exercise, which you can now try on your own, underline the nouns as you read each sentence...BUT select only the subject of each sentence, and write it on the line that follows. Remember: Each subject in the sentences below will be the noun that is doing the main action each time! 1. Simone bought three tops at the Burlington Mall. ________________________________ 2. Juan knew a lot about Geometry and did well on his test. _________________________ 3. While driving to work one morning, Jeannette saw a puppy on the side of the road. _______________________ 4. In September, our new class met for the first time! _________________________ 5. After getting out of school for the day, Deshawn decided to have pizza with his friends. 6. Teri enjoyed a good cup of coffee in the morning._________________________ 7. Dave and Neil played sports, for which they won several awards._______________________________ 8. Is Nikki going to the movies this weekend? ________________________________ 9. Will Phil pass all exams next week? ______________________________________ 10. Kevin is a great hockey player! ____________________________ Part Five: Greek and Latin Roots Another way to increase our knowledge of vocabulary is to study Greek and Latin roots, which form the basis for many words in the English language. In this way, we may be able to decipher an unknown word based on part of a word that has a Greek or Latin origin. Today's Example: Root: anti- Origin: Greek Meaning: against Examples: antibacterial opposite antisocial Word Definitions: antibacterial: preventing/stopping the spread of bacteria antisocial: not wanting the company of others Sentence Example: Antibacterial dishwashing liquid may stop the spread of germs on your dishes. Sentence Example: Some people appear to be antisocial, when in fact, they may actually be shy. Try These Questions: 1. True False If you don't want to get sick, using antibacterial soap may be a good idea. 2. True False Tommy was antisocial; he loved to go to parties and have a great time. 3. True False Someone who is anti-war is against violence. 4. True False The anti-hero in a story is likely to have a lot of confidence. 5. True False An antidote for a snake bite will hopefully stop an infection from spreading. As we can see, understanding the meaning of just one root can help us identify the meaning of many other words! Part Six: Writing We will be writing each and every day, sometimes in response to passages we read or new material we learn. Other times, we will write according to structured outlines for particular styles. The purpose of these styles could be to persuade (which every single type of writing does in one way or another!), to describe, to explain, to argue, or to express feeling/be creative. Today's piece of writing will be the latter (the last one!) of the styles mentioned above! I will provide an opening sentence to jumpstart a story you will write in teams! Each member of your team will work together in contributing sentences to create a unique story of any genre (type) you would like. It could be mysterious, suspenseful, funny, serious, or any combination that works for you! The only guidelines you need to follow will be:
Note: You may take turns writing a sentence of your own or select one member of your team to write down everyone's ideas on the form below. (Be sure to list all names on the bottom of this form.) This person (or someone else you choose!) will then be asked to read your story to the class. Keep writing until I ask you to stop (I will warn you when time is almost up!). I cannot wait to hear the different stories you create! Here is your opening sentence: The day Sarita found the ring had not started out the way she had planned. _____________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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September 2024
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